There's a push going on in certain circles of hip-hop to get Lil Wayne's great new album "Tha Carter III" over the one million sales mark for its first week as a sign that hip-hop is still alive and kicking.
Kanye West is asking his fans to help Young Weezy out on his blog, even pointing out his favorite song is "Shoot Me Down." (And not "Comfortable" or "Let The Beat Build" which West worked on? Whoa!)
And now Jay-Z, who appears on Wayne's "Mr. Carter," takes a crack at rhyming over the irresistible beat of "A Milli" with a new freestyle that he has upgraded to "A Billi," with rhymes that outline the hopelessness of life in the hood ("Don't nobody love us / Shawn Carter, Sean Bell, what's the difference? Do tell / 50 shots or $50 mil, ain't no difference / Go to hell") and then how leaders like Barack Obama and Hova himself can help change it, adding, "I'm signing off as the hood's Barack."
"I know a million people already did this," Jay says to start "A Billi." Well, current estimates put sales of "Tha Carter III" between 850,000 and 950,000 -- with only a fraction of the hype that West and 50 Cent got last year, or even Mariah Carey's big opening this year. But a big weekend could push Weezy over the million mark.
Hear Jay-Z's "A Billi" here (R-rated language, consider yourselves warned)
Hear songs from Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III," including "A Milli" at I Heart Music